282: Deciphering the "Bee Language" and the "Hidden Dragon's" Disguise

During the days spent researching the Swarm's communication protocols, the base's technical team lived a surreal life of inverted days and nights, 'heart-to-heart' talks with dark gold lumps. In the isolated analysis room, three live Worker Bees became the most precious 'language teachers,' though they likely didn't know it themselves.

Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Zhang, along with several core members, spent all day immersed in a sea of data. They used extremely weak energy pulses of different encodings to 'poke' the suppressed Worker Bees, observing the reactions of their internal energy circuits and recording what 'stimulus' each 'tremor' or 'flash of light' corresponded to.

This process was somewhat like teaching a parrot to speak, but ten thousand times more complex. At least a parrot would mimic sounds; these Worker Bees only followed cold energy logic.

"Frequency A, intensity three, short pulse interval—corresponds to the 'Identify-Ally' signal. They relax their resistance slightly."

"Frequency B, with specific ripples, intensity five—corresponds to the 'Patrol-Return' command. They generate a faint 'longing' energy flow directed toward the Anvil."

"Frequency C, mixed with chaotic ripples, high intensity—simulates 'Encountering Strong Enemy.' They instantly enter a 'Caution-Awaiting Reinforcement' state. Simultaneously, their internal transmission units have a strong desire to fire, but we've suppressed it..."

"Attention! Frequency D, with reverse ripples—suspected 'Self-Destruct Command' or 'Maximum Alert'! The energy core becomes extremely unstable upon triggering! Stop! Stop immediately!"

Startled shouts occasionally rang out from the analysis room. Those outside listened with hearts thumping, fearing that one of the big shots inside might have a shaky hand and 'ask' the 'teacher' into an explosion.

Wang Wu and Mo Chen became the 'intelligence translators.' They took the fragments deciphered by the technical team and combined them with the actual Swarm communication traffic monitored by the Thousand Eyes network, attempting to piece together the grammar and common 'vocabulary' of Bee Language.

"'Worker Bee No. 1573, coordinates XXX, patrol route three, status normal, energy reserves 82%...' This is a standard patrol report."

"'Alert! High concentration of alien energy reaction detected at coordinates YYY (likely our bait), feature match 71%, requesting instructions...' This is the request sent when an anomaly is discovered."

"'Requesting Reinforcements! Encountered resistance from unknown unit at coordinates ZZZ, 2 units lost, target escaped, currently pursuing...' This is an engagement report."

"The end of every report carries a powerful verification code pointing deep into the Anvil, similar to 'Above report, for Bee Queen Mother's review.'"

Gradually, a crude but basically functional Bee Language dictionary and 'communication protocol framework' were compiled. This 'language' was extremely concise, efficient, and cold, with almost no redundant information. All commands and reports revolved around core functions like 'patrol,' 'discover,' 'attack,' 'report,' and 'return to nest.'

Meanwhile, another group under Wen Youyi's personal supervision began tackling another key technical challenge: energy signature simulation and camouflage.

To send fake messages and deceive the Bee Queen, one's 'voice' first had to sound like 'one of their own.' This meant the signals sent had to be highly consistent with genuine Swarm signals in energy fluctuation frequency, intensity, modulation, and even subtle 'accents' (minor differences that might exist between individual Worker Bees).

This task was handed to Wen Youyi, who had the finest control over energy, and the ship spirit consciousness of the Hidden Dragon.

"Hidden Dragon, feel this frequency and ripple," Wen Youyi said, guiding the standard 'patrol report' signal parsed from the Worker Bees directly to the Hidden Dragon's consciousness via the key. "Try to reproduce it using your communication array. Note: do not use Astral Brilliance energy to force a fit. Understand its 'rhythm,' then guide the ship's energy to vibrate and transmit with a similar 'tempo.'"

[Understood.] The Hidden Dragon's intent grew calm. It 'felt' that cold, orderly energy fluctuation with its metallic texture, attempting to adjust the energy output mode of its own communication array.

The first attempt resulted in a signal that sounded like an out-of-tune military song, filled with the softness of Astral Brilliance and the Hidden Dragon's own lively consciousness, completely out of place with the cold, rigid nature of Bee Language.

"No, it's too 'alive.' Imagine yourself as a piece of emotionless metal executing a fixed program," Wen Youyi guided.

The Hidden Dragon tried again, this time deliberately suppressing its own conscious fluctuations to make the energy output mechanical and stiff. The signal sounded a bit more like it, but it still carried a trace of imperceptible 'clumsiness,' like a person who just learned to walk trying to mimic a robot.

[It's hard...] A ripple of 'distress' came from the Hidden Dragon. [It feels... very awkward... not like me...]

"The point is to not be like you, but to be like 'them'," Wen Youyi said patiently. "Forget 'self' and just 'mimic.' It's like acting; right now, you need to play the part of a cold Gold Crystal Bee combatant."

Listening from the side, Xiao Wu couldn't help but mutter, "Asking our lively and cute Hidden Dragon baby to play a stone-faced robot—that's asking too much of the kid..."

But the Hidden Dragon's learning and adaptation abilities far exceeded expectations. After dozens of failures and adjustments, the signals it emitted finally grew closer and closer to that cold Bee Language texture. When it successfully simulated a 'patrol report' signal that was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, even the technicians monitoring the data almost thought another Worker Bee had slipped into the gauze curtain.

"Good! The 'voice' is right. Next is the 'ID card'," Wen Youyi presented the next challenge.

Every Bee Language message carried a unique 'identity verification code,' equivalent to a Worker Bee's 'employee ID.' The three Worker Bees they captured and the 'remains' each had different verification codes. Directly spoofing these known IDs was risky because the corresponding Worker Bees were already missing or destroyed; the Bee Queen might have already marked them as 'lost.'

"We need to... 'forge employee IDs'," Senior Brother Zhang proposed. "Analyze the generation patterns of these verification codes. They seem to be some kind of algorithm combining the Bee Queen's base code, individual factory serial numbers (if any), and possibly time and location parameters. If we can crack the algorithm, we can 'manufacture' plausible verification codes ourselves."

This was another arduous battle of code-breaking. Fortunately, with the key acting as a 'supercomputer' and 'rule-breaker' for assistance, combined with the known verification code samples and their context (time, approximate coordinates), the technical team eventually derived a possible verification code generation model.

They tried using this model to generate several new verification codes and then sent them via the Hidden Dragon's simulated signal—of course, only testing within the highly shielded analysis room, not actually transmitting toward the Anvil.

Test results showed that the generated verification codes were highly similar in energy structure to the real samples; at least with their current detection levels, it was difficult to tell true from false.

"Theoretical preparations are basically complete," Wen Youyi summarized at the core meeting. "We now grasp basic Bee Language, can simulate the Swarm's energy signatures and 'voice,' and can potentially forge temporary 'ID cards.' The Hidden Dragon has also undergone adaptive modifications, and its main communication array can switch to 'Bee Language Mode.'"

"So, the next step is a field test?" Zhao Iron Pillar rubbed his hands together. "Shall we go send some fake news to that iron-lump Bee Queen and mess with her?"

"No, targeting the Bee Queen directly is too risky." Wen Youyi shook his head. "We need a safer, more controllable 'field test site.'"

His gaze turned to the star map, landing on the Swarm squads still patrolling regularly on the outskirts of the Anvil region.

"We can try using fake messages to interfere with or guide a small Swarm patrol team far from the nest." Wen Youyi's finger traced a circuitous route on the star map. "For instance, simulate a Bee Queen command ordering a certain patrol team to temporarily change its route and head to an insignificant area for 'priority reconnaissance.' We'll observe their reaction to verify if our camouflage is truly effective, while also testing the Bee Queen's sensitivity and verification mechanisms for anomalous commands."

"If successful, we can evaluate the feasibility and risks of this 'signal deception' tactic. If it fails, the worst-case scenario is merely exposing our signal source's location, but we can immediately cut it off and relocate. The loss would be manageable."

This plan was more cautious and more actionable.

The plan was quickly named Operation Bee Language Maze. The objective: select a Swarm patrol team far from the Anvil's core and under Thousand Eyes network surveillance, then attempt to use a simulated Bee Queen command to guide it away from its original route.

The operation was still to be executed by Wen Youyi and the Hidden Dragon. This time, they carried only necessary communication and stealth equipment. The goal was clear, and the action would be swift, aiming for a quick withdrawal after the strike.

A few days later, everything was ready.

The Hidden Dragon once again quietly sailed out of the starlight gauze curtain, like a silver ghost that had mastered a new trick, prowling toward the designated 'test area.'

This time, it didn't just need to know how to fight; it had to learn how to 'deceive.'

The information war in the sea of stars quietly began.

(End of Chapter)